Chocolate Granola Bars

I was working from this recipe, which encourages you to mess around: https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/thick-chewy-granola-bars/

I was trying to use caramel as a binder instead of honey or whatever: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/how-to-make-the/

but I didn't think about what hot caramel would do to the chocolate chips I added. (probably about a cup, counting it toward the "dried fruits and nuts" category.)

Good luck, and tell me about it if you nail down an exact recipe you like. Also let me know if you have any luck with caramel-no-chocolate granola bars.

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Update: tried it again.

• 1 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups golden raisins and nuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter

Mix the dry ingredients. (I toasted the oats and nuts, but I don't think it added much.) Caramelize the sugar, then add the butter. It will foam a bit, but not too aggressively because the butter releases water slowly as it melts. Add the caramel mixture to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form into bars (still working on the best way to do this; one option is to mold them into a pan lined with parchment paper, then pull them out and cut them apart once they're cool enough to mostly hold together.

To try:

• more salt. Measure salt.
• These would still be tasty without chocolate, but do we need more stuff holding them together?
• I should remember that I don't like fruit with chocolate.